SCRIPTURE:
“To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen! Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send greetings. All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Ceasar’s household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.” (Philippians 4:20-23)

Observations/Interpretations:
I asked myself how does Paul start to end the letter and the significance of that?
Paul starts to end the letter by giving glory to God even after everything he's been through.  This is so amazing to me that he did not let his circumstances determine whether God gets the  glory. After letting the Philippians know that God will supply all their needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus, he praises the Lord with the words ‘be glory forever and ever’

What I found even more significant is that Paul addresses God personally as Father. God is seen not only as his Father but the Father of the Philippians too. There is a son-Father relationship here. No matter what is happening to Paul, he knows that God deserves to be glorified. That is exciting! For me this statement also lets the Philippians know that God is their Father too.

I am so excited to claim the promise ‘what great love the Father has lavished upon us that we should be called His dear children.’ (1 John 3:1)

 Isn’t that amazing?

It is for me because I know no matter what Paul is going through, he has his trust and faith in His Heavenly Father and gives Him the glory.

Observations:
I asked myself does Paul do next after giving glory to God and its significance?
The next I see Paul doing is speaking to the children of God. The exhortation is for one another to greet all in Christ Jesus even as they are greeted, especially those of Ceaser’s household. This is very significant because he is letting the Philippians know there are children of God even in Ceasar’s household now.

That becomes that much more significant when we realize that many people thought they had no king but Ceasar. Now there is a band of believers within Ceasar’s household that do not give him the allegiance but to God, their Father. It is possible it could be those who are related to Ceasar too. God is their King now!

After talking about God and exhorting them to greet others, Paul ends the letter with a blessing. The blessing itself is very profound because it starts out with ‘GRACE’ and the entire letter is concluded with ‘GRACE’

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen!”

Observations:
I asked myself the significance of how Paul ends the letter?
What came to my mind is whether it is Paul, the Philippians, or Ceasar’s household, they all have one thing in common. That is having God as their Heavenly Father so they can be saints in Christ Jesus and brothers/sisters to one another. But all this has only been possible because of GRACE.  It is the Lord’s grace that allowed them all to be His children and experience their Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ our Lord. That is exciting!

IMPLICATIONS:
I saw important implications for my own life. Our Father in Heaven always deserves to be given glory forever and ever because of His grace showered upon us through the Lord Jesus Christ in our spirit. Just as Paul had a relationship with Father God no matter what he is going through, I too can have that personal relationship with Father God.

HOW GOSPEL GIVES ME TESTIMONY REGARDING F.A.T.H.E.R:
My beloved dad went to be with the Lord but as my mommy reminds me, God will be the Father of the fatherless. I have a Heavenly Father who will look after my own dad in His loving arms. I have a Heavenly Father who will look after me where I am at because He loves me so much and desires to shower up His grace in my life through the Lord Jesus Christ. I can always turn to Father God and talk to Him no matter what I am going through because He will be there for me always. He will take care of me through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ who is God, Himself. Praise the Lord. I can share with Jesus how much my earthly father loved me and how much I miss my daddy more on certain days. But the Good News is that my daddy is with Jesus even though I miss him. The Good News also is that I have a Heavenly Father who will be my Father here on earth to take care of me.

I ask you now dear friend, how do you see Father in life?
Friend, I don’t know what kind of earthly father you have been exposed to. I use the word 'exposed' because any kind of exposure of anything or anyone can affect us positively or negatively. It could also affect how we perceive other areas of our life.  Your concept of how you see Father in life could be based on your own relationship with your earthly father.

No matter how your earthly relationship has been, I want you to know that your Heavenly Father loves you so much regardless. Oh yes, He does! You are never out of His love and never out of His reach.

Maybe you may wonder then why He has not intervened in your life right away if you don't experience his intervention. Friend, I know Lord has His timing and He loves you so much! Yes, He does! I also know that even though Paul was shackled in chains and prison, he knew the love of the Father and wanted to share it with all the Philippians. He then wanted them to share the love of the Father with others including people of Ceasar’s household.

For me love of the Father is something implied in this letter even if ‘love’ is not directly mentioned. Friend, God loves you. God loves you! Yes, He does! I believe our God has His timing and His timing brings the best intervention even when we cannot understand it.

His grace is for you too friend! You can receive it and become a child of God. He will take care of you and get you through. You can experience His grace in Christ Jesus for your spirit. For the Lord heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds.

May you turn to your Heavenly Father who loves you so much that He has given you His Word full of promises! Amen!

"Faithfully Answers Today Helpfully Everlasting Redeemer!" (F.A.T.H.E.R)"How do you see F.A.T.H.E.R in life?"

Lord Jesus, You are my all in all. You are my Prince of Peace, Rock, Savior, and Friend. You are my Holy Father guiding me through to live a life of righteousness, holy righteousness. Oh God, I need you more than ever. I need to feel your hands around me holding me tight. I need your love to surround me so that you can glow in my life. Help me please Jesus. I desire in your presence. Thank you for guiding me to live a life of righteousness. Oh God you love me more than ever. You hear my voice when I cry out to you. When I seek your face, you fill me up. You are my all in all. Thank you Jesus so much for your help no matter what I face, your grace is available and you take my case. Thank you for hearing us and answering us. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! AMEN! (Most of the prayer is from a vineyard song called “All in All”)

You don't have to be locked away anymore for Christ is here to free you and give you peace to LIVE out your actions.

How do you look at GODISNOWHERE?

One of my pastors, Pastor Hugo SHARED this example one Sunday at the RESURRECTION DAY SERVICE in the combined worship service of Pittsburgh Chinese Church-Oakland & Oakland International Fellowship:

If you look at it as GOD IS NO WHERE, you will still be lost in your sin and be in bondage locked away in your sins and problems finding no peace.

But  as my pastor spoke to the congregation and spoke to me, I am here to tell you that GOD IS NOW HERE.

Yes, friend God is aLIVE and wants to bring a transformation in your life through the GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ for He paid the penalty on the cross to rescue you and me and came back to life to save us and LIVE with us.

Yes, friend that is exciting to know that we can experience HIS SAVING GRACE & LIVING GRACE.

When we mess up, we can go to Jesus with our shortcomings and He will forgive us and RESTORE us to Him and we will find peace in Him.

^"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23, NIV)

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:7-9, NIV)

Friend, we need Jesus because we have been separated from God due to our sin. Because of our sin, Jesus had to pay the price to become our bridge so we can reach God now not of our own good works but because of the finished work of Christ, the Lord on the cross.

"For it is by GRACE you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV)

Come to Jesus as you are and pray this prayer to accept Jesus as your Lord and Personal Savior. He will transform your life around! Praise the Lord! You don't have to have all the answers! You can come as you are!

If you want to be a soldier in the Lord's army, you can become it right now. Now is the time of Salvation! You do not have to wait but can pray this prayer and give your life to Christ to serve Him daily! There is no draft but coming to Christ is voluntary. He loves you so much and wants you to come to Him! He will take care of you, guiding you and leading you!

PRAYER:
Dear Jesus, I love you. Thank you for loving me so much and thank you for choosing the cross to die for me. You became the Son of Man and lived here on earth. Then you humbled yourself and became obedient to death-even death on the cross. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sin. You died on the cross so that I can be covered in your blood and cleansed by your blood as I acknowledge that I need you and cannot enter Heaven without you being my pathway. So, Jesus I confess all my sins to you and all the ways I have tried to get into Heaven when you already provided the means and the Way. Thank you for all that you have done for me. "The cross is the place, a wonderful place where accused and condemned find mercy and grace. Thank you Jesus, it is at the cross where the wrongs we have done and the wrongs done to us were nailed at the cross. Thank you Jesus, at the cross you died for our sins and at the cross you gave your life for us." I thank you for that and thank you for coming back to life to save us. Thank you Jesus for being there for me! Thank you for loving me. I love you Jesus! Please take me as I am and make my life into something that you will be proud of. I surrender my life to you and need your help to live for you. I am forever grateful for what you have done for me and I can never repay you. I want to live for you and need your help. Help me Jesus please. I thank you Jesus for saving me! Thank you for hearing my prayer and answering me. Whatever your will give me the willingness and strength to bear it. Thank you Jesus! I acknowledge you as my Lord and Personal Savior! In Your Name I Pray precious Jesus! Amen!